Forus is a fast, technical, melodic punk band from Bayonne, France. Their sound is reminiscent of other bands which could fit the same description such as Belvedere (they actually contributed a song to an upcoming Belvedere tribute record) and A Wilhelm Scream. This is a strong EP and leaves you wanting more.

This EP opens with "The Link," an instrumental track which serves well to show off the band's musical chops and clocks in at just over a minute. The EP continues on with "Every Second Is an Hour," which is the strongest track on this EP and pretty much sums up what you are going to get with the rest of the EP. All the songs clock in at under three minutes, except for "Watch Me Fall" which is just barely over three minutes.

The production here is strong without sounding overproduced, although the bass could be a little louder in the mix. The guitar tones are great and the drums sound especially good. The vocals are very clean and the harmonies sound natural and are well mixed. This EP sounds good even when I play it on my laptop with its crappy speakers.

These guys definitely have chops. There are plenty of twin guitar harmonies, pauses, modulation and generally technically impressive music that puts these guys at the top of the heap of other like-minded bands. All the songs are fast and I especially appreciate the drumming (those who pay attention to the bass drum work in fast punk beats will know exactly what I mean). Throughout this EP you will be continually impressed with the musicianship these guys have; add solid vocals on top of that and you have a very engaging listen.

For all the talent this band displays musically, though, they lack originality. They don't sound exactly like any other band, but you can definitely tell what bands these guys are influenced by. The songwriting is pretty strong, but nothing really sticks out as something truly unique. The frantic pace of all the songs is good for a six-song EP, but would probably wear thin if they released a full-length in the same manner.

To wrap this up, this is an enjoyable release from a band who has endless potential. Only time will tell how bright this band will shine (they definitely need to release a full-length and their upcoming album, We, is just this EP and some other previously released material with only one new song), but if you're a fan of this style of punk this is definitely worth adding to your collection.